Say Hello To...

1. So tell us about your blog. How did you come up with your blog name? How did it all start?

So my blog 'Ginevrella' is a personal lifestyle blog all about the things I get up to in life. I don't tend to stick to any particular type of posts - I like a good mixture of days out, recipe posts, travel and whatever else comes to mind! Originally I called the blog 'Home With Jenny' because I kind of intended it to be about homeware and just home-based things really. I quickly realised though that I didn't really have the budget or scope for lots of interiors and homeware posts, and that actually the most interesting parts of my life aren't always at home! So I decided after a couple of months that I needed a better name. I really liked the idea of using my own name, but 'JennyElizabeth' or 'JenniferElizabeth' got taken up as domain and account names a long time ago and I needed to get creative. 'Ginevrella' is a play on my names instead; 'Ginevra' is the Italian form of Guinevere, which is a form of Jennifer. Ella is a short term for Elizabeth so I combined the two and came up with Ginevrella :)

I started blogging at the end of my third year of university. I'd been reading blogs for a little while and realised that they could be written by 'normal' people (!) - some of them were written by people I knew. It was the quiet end of the year and I was working on a not-too-taxing project watching films, so I had a lot of free time. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to start writing my own blog and I haven't stopped since!

2. I see that you've graduated and that you are now a Doctor! Fantastic! What area do you think you'd like to specialise in and why?

Yes - after years of medical school I've finally made it! Although the hard work is definitely starting now. At the moment I'd really like to specialise in psychiatry, the area that deals with mental health. It's an area I've found fascinating and the work seems really rewarding, plus I loved it when I did my placements. I also think that as mental health becomes more and more talked about, psychiatry is going to go through some big changes in the next few years and I want to be a part of that. All that said though, I still also like the idea of working as a GP - the job is really varied and you can get to know your patients really well.

3. You blog a lot of yummy recipes! What is your favourite ingredient to use and why?

Well I always think tasty food should be shared! If I'm doing savoury foods, goat's cheese is a particular favourite of mine because you can use it in so many things. It's delicious chucked into all kinds of salads, melted on a baked potato or baked into bread. For sweet foods I'm a big fan of using almonds - either whole or ground. They make delicious fillings for tarts, or as a replacement for flour when doing gluten free baking.

4. I've watched some interesting documentaries recently (all taken with a pinch of salt I might add) about how we should use food more to treat and prevent ailments rather than just jumping straight to prescription drugs. What are your views on this?

I love a good documentary too! I believe there's a lot to be said for a healthy, balanced diet - especially when thinking about disease prevention. There's so much research being done looking at food and healthy these days and we're continually learning about what we eat and how it affects us. I'm often wary of 'fad diets' and brand new trends with only minimal evidence, but some of the long tested stuff like getting plenty of vegetables and fruits into our diets is always sensible advice. Equally I think that eating well certainly has a role in treating illness - a well balanced diet provides the nutrition we need to heal and to maintain a functioning immune system. Antibiotics won't cure a cold (it's to do with colds being viral not bacteria), but a healthy diet will all the right vitamins etc. will certainly go towards keeping colds away! That said though, prescription medicines are not things to be scared of and prescribing practices here in the UK are pretty well regulated and controlled. Doctors prescribe things with good reason and medicine can do things that can't simply be done just with food. If anyone's thinking of using food to treat illness, it's probably a good idea to have a chat with your GP. They can help and advise you, and can maybe get you put in touch with dietitians or specialists who will have lots of knowledge.

This is a really interesting point of view!

5. This is a loaded question because I already know the answer...but very much want to know more! Do you have any pets? If yes, tell us all about her.

Indeed, I have a lovely little Jack Russell Terrier called Saffy. She's eight years old although still gets mistaken for a puppy - she's obviously got a bit of a baby face! She's very sweet and tries quite hard to please, although she gets very easily confused. Despite this, she's actually pretty clever when she wants to be - she's a master at finding treats and sneaking off to the end of the garden with an entire bag! She's incredibly spoilt and often gets leftover meats from dinner, stuffed toys from local charity shops and plenty of cuddles. She's not quite as well trained as your gorgeous dog Bosun (I don't know where you get that idea from...), but she does have a few tricks - she can 'crawl' along the floor, shake paw and we've done a bit of jumping and agility for fun in the back garden.

She is such a cutie!

6. If there was going to be a book written with you as a main character, which author would you want to write it and why?

Ooh this is a great question! I think maybe I'd go for J.K. Rowling - I think she's a brilliant writer and I'd love to see what kind of magical spin she could put on my life!

It has been as absolute pleasure working with you Jennifer, thank you so much!

Jennifer blogs over at Ginevrella and blogs about all manner of things from food to travel. Pop on over and have a look!

Say Hello To is a monthly blog series where I get to collaborate with other bloggers and help to widen the blogging community.

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Hi Ellie, I really enjoyed reading about Jennifer and her blog. I think she has a really interesting perspective as a doctor too. I'm enjoying this series very much; if you're ever looking for more people to interview, I'd love to be added to your list. :)

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About Me

My name is Ellie and I live in Northumberland with my husband and my labrador Bosun. We are on a mission to be as self sufficient as possible through growing our own produce, foraging, collecting our own firewood and one day we plan to have our own small holding. Read about our journey here on my blog. Thank you for stopping by.